Rudnick’s wait for harvest tag was worth it

It may have taken him seven years to harvest a bear, but the wait paid off for Matthew Rudnick, of Gilman. Rudnick’s dreams came true Sept. 14, in Chippewa County, with the harvest of a 570-pound bear at live weight.

The reason it took seven years for Rudnick to get his bear, is that he didn’t have enough points for harvest.

“Every year, you apply for a point and then after so many years, then you send in for a harvest tag,” said Rudnick.

Once he had enough points to draw for Zone D, which is part of two zones divided by State Hwy. 27, Rudnick and his group hunted on the west side of Holcombe, in the county forest.

The group set up bait stations throughout the county forest, as well as on some private land they received permission to hunt on. When the bear came into the bait that September day, the hounds Rudnick hunts with were released and tracked by scent to find the bear.

“The bear will go lay down after it eats,” said Rudnick.

Using what’s called the “cold trail dog,” the canine will track the bear until it gets close enough that the bear jumps up to run.

“And then it’s considered that we have the bear ‘jumped,’” said Rudnick.

That’s the hunters’ cue to get the rest of the dogs in on the action, which eventually led them to close in on the bear’s trail through the swamp.

“I just happened to get in front of them and I was just waiting there when it came through,” said Rudnick, who took the shot with a .450 Bushmaster rifle, stopping the bear in its tracks. “It dropped right where it was.”

Because it weighed 530 pounds dressed, Rudnick needed all hands on deck to get the bear out of the woods.

“I had to float it across a lake and got it on an island,” laughed Rudnick. “It took quite a few of us to drag it. It wasn’t like dragging a deer out.”

Finally, Rudnick’s group reached a private logging road and could transport the bear home. The meat was then sent to a processor, but Rudnick still has the hide in the freezer, as he is trying to find the right taxidermist for what could be a three-quarter or full-body mount, depending on the space he has to store it.

Rudnick said he still replays the hunt over in his mind and is happy that his two dogs were among the hounds who ran the bear for him to harvest.